It’s Only the End of the World
(Juste la fin du monde)

It’s Only the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde)

Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, It’s Only the End of the World is a powerful and claustrophobic family drama from acclaimed filmmaker Xavier Dolan. Adapted from the stage play by Jean-Luc Lagarce, the film examines love, resentment, and miscommunication through the lens of a family unable to say what truly matters.

Louis (Gaspard Ulliel), a successful writer, returns home after twelve years away to tell his family that he is dying. What should be an act of reconciliation instead becomes a tense, emotional confrontation as old wounds resurface. Through a series of explosive conversations and quiet moments of tenderness, Dolan exposes the way love and cruelty can exist side by side within those closest to us.

Featuring an exceptional ensemble cast—including Nathalie Baye, Vincent Cassel, Marion Cotillard, and Léa Seydoux—the film unfolds almost entirely within the confines of a single home, heightening its emotional intensity. Dolan’s signature visual style—close framing, vibrant color, and rhythmic editing—transforms ordinary interactions into operatic expressions of longing and pain.

At once intimate and overwhelming, It’s Only the End of the World is a study in the limits of communication and the weight of unspoken truths. It captures the tragedy of wanting to connect but not knowing how, and the enduring ache of love that cannot find the right words.

Screening With:

Severance

Canadian Shorts Showcase

After battling cancer for several months, twenty-two-year-old Kristy-Ann receives news that her cancer has spread and has been deemed inoperable. Poetically, she reflects on time and what it means to her.

13 mins
Canada, 2016
Dir. Katie Hill
Language: English